Skulduggery Pleasant - Humiliated
by goXve
Summary: Set after Midnight. Skulduggery and Valkyrie is being kidnapped by a mysterious person that wants revenge on Valkyrie for what Darquesse did on "Devestation Day". Rated M because of torture, blood and sexual themes.
1. Prologue: Watched

_He observed her where she walked with resolute, determined and strong steps. As if nothing bothered her. As if she had nothing to be ashamed of. As if she had done nothing wrong. As if she had nothing to be afraid of._

 _The hatred coursed through him and he had to fight it so it would not explode into an uncontrollable force that would tear the young woman's body to pieces. Oh, how much did he not want to lay his arms around her and pull her in among the dark alleys in Roarhaven where he was hiding and do stuff to her body that would make her scream in pain!_

 _Those thoughts got a shiver of pleasure to spread through his body. How long had he not waited for this moment? How many nights had he not fantasized about how her screams would sound like while he lay in his bed and waited for the sleep to appear?_

 _Without him noticing he had unconsciously taken a few steps forward towards the young woman. He quickly stepped back into the shadows and the sound of rocks that rolled against asphalt could be heard. He cursed quietly to himself for his carelessness but quietened quickly when he saw how the young woman turned her head towards his direction._

 _He stood completely motionless and waited without breathing for the woman to turn away her head. When she once again had her attention turned away from him he dared to breath again. That had been a close call._

Way too close.

Calm down _... he said to himself._ She is of no use to you if you do not follow the plan. She will get what she deserves when the time is right...

 _His thoughts were interrupted by another figure that materialized in front of the woman. It was a long, very thin man. Or it at least looked like a man from this distance. It was dark outside and the moonlight did not quite reach all the way to where they found themselves._

 _The figure wore a darkblue suit and a hat in the same color as the suit. It greeted the woman with warmth in its voice and the woman with the black hair and the dark brown eyes smiled towards the figure before she gave it a hug that the figure answered._

 _He could hear on their voices through the way they talked to each other that they were good friends and maybe even more than that...? He had not seen any clear evidence for that yet, but the way they talked and interacted with each other indicated that so could be the case. How now a living skeleton and a 26 year old woman could have a relationship surpassed his wildest imaginations, but that was not why he had kept her under supervision for several weeks. No, he simply waited for the right time._

 _The time when he would capture them both and make them pay for all the damage they had caused him. The time when he would make Valkyrie Cain regret the day she was born and Skulduggery Pleasant regret taking her as his partner..._

* * *

"Skulduggery!"

Her voice echoed between the empty streets and bounced against the house walls. She could hear how the sound of her voice that called her mentor's and best friend's name disappeared further and further away until it became a whisper before it disappeared completely. She found herself in the outskirts of Roarhaven. More exactly not far from the place where she a few years earlier as Darquesse had slaughtered countless lives. Both good and evil.

"Where is he? It's not like him to be late..."

Skulduggery had called her earlier in the day and said that he would "check something out" and that they would meet on the place where she right now found herself at eight o'clock. The clock had now passed quarter past eight and Skulduggery always used to call if something came in between and that would make him late, but Valkyrie had not heard anything from him for several hours.

She frowned. "Nothing has happened to him, has it?"

"Who has something happen to him?"

The voice made her twitch and she quickly turned around with her hands raised and let her magic flow out of her fingertips as if she was going to give the person in front of her a magical fisticuff. She however managed to stop herself in the last moment when she saw who it was that had addressed her.

"Are you out of your mind, Skulduggery?! I could have hurt you severly!"

"My dear Valkyrie, you if anyone should know that I would've seen your attack come from several miles away and elegantly parry or block it before you even knew what was happening."

Valkyrie smiled. "Your ego is as big as usual, I notice."

"And it can never be big enough." Despite the fact that Skulduggery did not have any lips she could hear in his voice that he was smiling.

Valkyrie gave his arm a gently push with her fist before she turned around and began to walk towards a deserted house that had seen better days. It was that kind of house that adolescents thought were perfect to have Halloween parties in or bet each other of who could spend the longest time in there without fleeing terror-stricken from there.

The house had once been red but since no one had repainted it for several years the house was more brown than red. Valkyrie thought it looked like as if someone had hrown blood on the house and then let it solidify. The smell from the house did not do much to contradict her opinion either, since it smelled rotten, stuffy and moldy. The windows was nailed-up and the weed had grown so high that it reached your knees.

"Remind me of what we are doing here again?"

"We have recieved a tip from an anonymous source that an adept we've been searching for a while now should be hiding in this charming house."

Just as Skulduggery said that, a creaking sound was heard and one of the roof beams on the house front snapped. It fell down towards the ground with a loud crash and in the silence that followed Valkyrie could not help aim a raised eyebrow towards Skulduggery.

"You just said...?"

Skulduggery mumbled something inaudible and Valkyrie could not stop a laugh from seeping out. She got an irritated glance from Skulduggery which made her laugh even more. Skulduggery shook his head and left her where she stood with her hands around her waist while he walked to the front door.

"When you are done making an exhibition of yourself you are warmly welcome to follow me inside and, as you usually express it, 'kick some ass'."

"If we're going to kick some ass I'm all in!" Valkyrie walked up to Skulduggery and gave him a smile that he, despite his irritation, could not help but answer.

In the same moment that they stepped through the door their smiles disappeared and instead exchanged to a more serious expression. Their "work faces" as Tanith once had told her when they've been on a mission together for x number of years ago.

"Have you noticed that when you and Skulduggery gets a mission it's like you transform in front of ones eyes. You get a special expression in the face and you have a totally different posture. I can not explain, but it shows if you know what to look for. It's like you have a special face everytime you work. A work face!"

Valkyrie felt how a twinge of missing build in her heart when she thought back on her friend. How long had it been since she last had talked or seen Tanith? She could not remember... The only thing she was sure of was that she was missing her.

A lot.

She was interrupted in her thoughts of a sound. It sounded like... footsteps. Valkyrie stopped and listened. She laid her hand on Skulduggery's arm to make him stop. He did not say anything, just watched her and waited. Nothing was heard except for Valkyrie's own breath and the creaking from the house. Had she imagined the steps? No... She was sure that she had heard the sounds of another pair of feet then her and Skulduggery's.

"I suspect that we're not alone, Skulduggery..."

"I know. I heard them as well. We must be on our guard. We have no idea of what could possibly await us in here."

Valkyrie nodded and followed Skulduggery when he silently sneaked on through the ramshackled house. From time to time he stopped and listened and Valkyrie thought that she could feel the presence of a third person that sneaked around them. Without she knowing why, a shiver searched its way along her spine that made her body shiver in discomfort.

As if Skulduggery felt her discomfort he took her hand in his gloved one and gave it a calming push. The feeling of their interlaced hands made her calm down and a warmth to spread through her cold body. She was safe in Skulduggery's presence and would so remain as long as he was with her.

They continued their trip through the house under silence and just as Valkyrie thought that she must have imagined that a third presence followed them they stepped into what once must have been the living room. Skulduggery stopped in the doorway and stretched out his hand to read the air. When he could not feel any disturbance he stepped into the room with Valkyrie close behind him.

 _Ha! They did not see the symbol! Now I got them..._

In the same moment that Valkyrie stepped through the threshold she saw in the corner of her eye how a blue light began to shine from a symbol that was carved into the wood around them. She was just about to shout a warning to Skulduggery when she was enclosed by a blinding gleam. She laid her arm over her eyes to protect them and at the same time felt how her grip around Skulduggery's hand was teared away. When she tried to fumble for him she stumbled against a wall. She could hear Skulduggery call her name, but it was as if he stood several kilometers away and not just a couple meters from her.

After a few seconds when she had started to get her sight back she blinked a few times to clear out the last turbid and it was then that she saw that she was trapped in some sort of glass cube. She could faintly see the contours of the cube if she concentrated and looked really carefully.

Skulduggery stood on the other side of the cube and had laid his hand against the glass. She could see that he said something, but the sound of his voice was so faint that she could not hear what he said. She leaned closer in an attempt to try to hear him better but despite how much she concentrated, she could only hear a faint mumble.

She lifted her hand and evoked her magic. A white light lit up her hand and in the same moment that it touched the glass she was struck with a fierce shock that made her fall backwards and hit the cube's other side. The force of the impact was so strong that she blacked out.

The last thing she saw before the darkness took her was how a figure approached Skulduggery from behind and how it turned its head towards her. In its face she could see a smile that was so big that she thought that the figure's face would crack.


	2. Chapter 1 - Captured

She awoke of someone calling her name. She at first did not recognize the voice, since it came from so far away. She had to force herself to concentrate on the voice, let it guide her up from the darkness that surrounded her.

She opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a roof before her eyes traveled to the right where the voice she'd heard had come from. There sat Skulduggery, chained to a chair. Around his wrists he had a pair of thick chains that was carved with symbols. These prevented him from escaping and she could see that he had tried based on that the part of his costume that was closest to the chains had been burnt up.

He said her name again and this time she heard him clearly. It was as if his voice scattered the last of the fog that surrounded her and made her head feel heavy and languid. She pinched her eyes together and took a deep breath. "I hear you, Skulduggery", she said.

"How are you feeling?"

"A little dizzy in the head and a body that feels like lead, otherwise fine." She turned her head and looked around in the room they found themselves in.

Her hands and feet were chained to the headboards. Except for the bed and the chair that Skulduggery sat in, the room was empty from furniture. A window to her left let in a faint moonlight and told her that it was the middle of the night. In other words she had been unconscious for at least five hours.

"Where are we?"

"In a cottage."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "I can see that!"

"Then why do you ask if you already know the answer?"

"You know so well what I mean!"

Skulduggery shrugged but didn't answer. Valkyrie sighed and closed her eyes while she tried to remember what had happened them. They had walked into an abandoned house in search for an adept that they had been hunting for a while. She also remembered that she had felt watched and that she thought she had heard the sound from a third person's steps. Then...

She frowned. "Skulduggery, what happened after we heard the footsteps in the house?"

Skulduggery tilted his head. "Why do you ask such a stupid thing? You were there and experienced it together with me."

"I remember nothing after telling you that I'd thought I'd heard them. Everything is black."

"Ah."

Valkyrie looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean with 'ah'?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No...?" she said with a hesitant voice.

"You sustained such a powerful punch that you got memory loss."

"A punch?" Valkyrie looked puzzled. "By who?"

"Not by _who_ , but by _what_. You got captured in a magical glass cube and when you touched it with your magic you got a powerful shock that made you fly straight into the cube's opposite side. The force from the impact was so strong that you fainted."

"I really need to stop faint in your presence, mr Pleasant", Valkyrie said with a smile before she became serious again. "Joking aside, this far I'm following you. But... it only explains how _I_ have been able to get chained to this bed. It doesn't explain why _you_ are chained to that chair."

"Ah, that's right. It was that little detail as well..." Skulduggery cleared his throat despite him not having any vocal cords or throat. "I am not saying this to make you feel like you are inferior to me..."

Valkyrie gave Skulduggery an angry gaze, but he pretended like he didn't see it and just continued calmly: "but the fact is that when you so nicely managed to get captured and my attention was to a hundred procent aimed at you, I got struck from behind. It was a really nice blow as well, hit just that spot in the neck that makes you pass out if you hit it just hard enough."

"What do you mean with I am inferior to you? Everyone knows that we are equals and that I am on my way to surpass you."

Skulduggery was just about to answer when he saw Valkyrie's smile. He couldn't help but chuckle while he shook his head. Valkyrie laughed as well and the atmosphere in the room eased up considerably, despite the situation they were in.

"So..." Valkyrie said after a few moments silence. "What's our plan?"

"What plan?"

"How we shall get out of here, of course!"

"Oh, that one! Well, if I shall be totally honest with you, Valkyrie, so haven't I thought one out yet."

Valkyrie stared at Skulduggery. Was he joking?! "What do you mean with 'I haven't thought about that yet'?! You always have a plan ready. Then that it's not always working or just sucks, is a completely different matter."

"This may surprise you, Valkyrie, but you can not always trust that I will be there for you. You can't take me for granted. One beautiful day I may disappear and then you must be able to stand on your own legs."

"But that day is yet to come, is it not? So then I can just as well continue to rely myself on you."

Valkyrie's voice sounded completely normal, but Skulduggery could still see the little glimps of sadness in her eyes by the thought of never again be by his side. If he could he would have given her a hug, but since he was chained to a chair was the best he could do was to tilt his head in a way that showed her he smiled.

Valkyrie in turn couldn't help but think about how her life without Skulduggery would be like. Who would she become if she didn't have Skulduggery there that could help her back to reality when she went berserk? Who would help her when she threw herself into dangerous situations without thinking of the consequences? Who would help her solve mysteries?

And most important of all: _who would be able to understand her the way Skulduggery did?_

The sound of a door that opened made her tear away from her unpleasant thoughts and draw her attention towards the bedroom door. She prepared for who or what that could be coming into the room by flexing all the muscles in her whole body and clean her head from all thoughts.

In the doorway stood a tall man with blond hair and pure white skin. At least the skin that could be glimpsed under the hood that was firmly tied on the cassock he was wearing. He stood with his hands clasped as if he was begging but the smile on his lips indicated that it was not to such a nice god. The hood rustled slightly when he moved his head and Valkyrie could feel his gaze on her even though she could not see his eyes that was hidden under the hood.

"Welcome, my dear guests to my simple abode. I hope that you will enjoy yourself during your stay here", the man whispered with a voice that reminded Valkyrie of a ravens hoarse croaking.

"Who are you and why have you brought us here?" asked Skulduggery with a voice cold as ice.

The man in the cassock did not let his gaze of Valkyrie when he answered the skeleton detective's question. "Why, indeed... That was a good question, but I am afraid I will have to disappoint you, dear detective. I have no intention whatsover of telling my plans for you or your beautiful partner."

The man closed in on Valkyrie and kept holding his gaze in hers the whole time. His penetrating gaze, which Valkyrie could only feel but not see, got chilling shivers to travel down along her spine and she had to struggle not to show her discomfort. She did not succeed that good.

The man's hoarse laugh filled the room and made Valkyrie unconsciously curl up where she lay chained. "You can not hide anything from me, my dear Valkyrie. Or shall I call you by your real name instead, _Darquesse_?"

Valkyrie twitched when she heard the hatred that seeped out from the man's mouth when he said her true name. Surely, she already knew that many hated her for what Darquesse had done and considered it to be her fault that she had not put an end to her earlier, but it was not many that openly had dared to show her exactly _how much_ they really hated her.

"That's not my name anymore. I am Valkyrie Cain and will so remain."

The man laughed and leaned down over her. Despite his face being so close to her own she could only distinguish it, since the hood was so black and so long pulled down. She thought she could see a glimpse of a pair of ice blue eyes that radiated a mix of hatred, happiness and that special gaze that she had seen so many times before in other sorcerers. That gaze which told her that the man in front of her wanted to hurt her, maybe even kill her...

"Really?" The man thought for a moment before he nodded to himself. "I see."

"What? Did you just realize that it was a bad idea to capture us?" Valkyrie said with a grin.

"Heh, you can always dream, _Darquesse_. No, I just realized that you have not yet understood that even if Darquesse at this moment is trapped in your reflection's body and trapped in another dimension, she will still always be a part of you. I bet that some part of her is still haunting you, visible or not. Aren't I right?" The man leaned even closer towards her so Skulduggery would not be able to either hear nor see what he was doing with her.

"If you touch as much as a single hair on her I will kill you slowly and extremely painful."

Skulduggery's words got the man to freeze for a second before that horrible smile was back in his face. "And how are you going to do that, if I may ask? You are chained to that chair as long as I want you to. Believe me when I say that your time will come eventually, detective. But before it does... I will have some fun with your young, beautiful partner here."

" _Do not touch her!"_ Skulduggery roared and began to fight against the chains but the only thing he achieved was to get them dig deeper into his suit and dangerously close to his skeleton.

"Skulduggery, stop! You're only hurting yourself more!" Valkyrie looked at the man in the cassock. "What do you want?"

The man leaned so close to her that she could feel how his blonde hair tickled her cheek. "Revenge, my dear Darquesse. Revenge for what you have done towards me and my family. Revenge for what you have done towards all the 1,351 people that you murdered in cold blood six years ago on the day we call 'Devastation Day'."

Valkyrie did not answer. She had no answer to give.

"Behold! This is what you've done towards me!" the man screamed in her ear and at the same time pulled back the hood that covered his face.

She could not help it. Valkyrie screamed in terror when she saw her kidnapper. His whole face was covered in half-healed scars that had been created from burns. Some of the scars were still more wounds than scars and from these oozed a mixture of pus and blood out that smelled terrible.

"Behold one of your many creations! See what's become of me! Six years ago I was a happy, married man with a wife, children and with a job that I loved. I was a priest and helped people that had a rough period in their lives to find back to the right path. I got people to see God's love! But now..." The man let his hands claw over his deformed face, which got the open wounds to crack and open up even more.

The content from them splashed down on Valkyrie and she had to force herself not to puke. The man did not care about her discomfort but continued as if nothing had happened.

"Now everything's been taking away from me... My family is dead and all my old coworkers and faithful followers has turned their back on me." The man looked at Valkyrie. "I don't know how you've done it, but this is magical wounds. I've tried everything, but nothing has worked. Just when they're about to heal they open up again and it all starts over. I guess that a part of Darquesse lives on inside of me, int the same way that I know that a part of her is living inside of you as well, Valkyrie Cain..."

"I did not create you! I am not her! I am not Darquesse!"

The man gave her a sad smile before he shook his head. "Oh, all you non-faithful! If you only dared open up your eyes for God you would see the world in a whole different light! You would get to learn yourselfs and those around you on a whole new level! You would..."

"Enough!"

Both Valkyrie and the man in the cassock flinched by Skulduggery's voice. He managed to sound both ice-cold, furious and murderous at the same time. When Valkyrie turned her gaze towards him she could see the rage that radiated from his eye-sockets.

"I'm tired of listening to your so-called 'sermon'. You may believe it, but you're not a superior sorcerer that stands above everyone else just because you claim to be able to talk to one or several god's. And even if you would be able to, I have a hard time believing that it or them would be so kind. I myself encountered some gods many years ago and the funniest thing they knew was to torture me in as many different ways as they could think of."

The man in the cassock looked doubtful for a second but that expression was soon switched to a grin. "Oh, don't think I don't see what you're trying to do, detective. You can't fool me! You're trying to mislead me with your words, but I'm too smart to fall for your lies!"

"Believe whatever you want, I surely couldn't care less."

"Oh, but you will find your faith before I am done with you two. Have faith in me! Believe in your priest and saviour Vladimir O'Callaghan!"


	3. Chapter 2 - Tortured

The night slowly passed into day and strangely enough she managed to sleep a couple of hours. When she awoke the room was full of light and she could hear the sound from the world outside her prison. Birds that sang, twigs that broke, animals that walked around and called to each other. She could not see anything of this through the small window though, but she could only listen and pretend that she herself was out there.

She thought back on the man that held her and Skulduggery captured. Vladimir O'Callaghan... He was a mystery that she yet had not managed to solve. Who was he and what was his _actual_ goal? She could understand that he wanted to get revenge on her for letting Darquesse roam free, but why capture Skulduggery as well? Was Vladimir afraid of Skulduggery's wrath? Or had Skulduggery done something towards Vladimir that he wasn't aware of?

The more she thought about it, the more confused she got.

Skulduggery sat with his head bent down on his chair. Valkyrie could not see if he was meditating or immersed in thoughts. She sat up as best as she could until she had found a comfortable position. "Skulduggery, are you awake?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Okay. Just wanted to double check."

It became quiet again. Valkyrie looked around the room. It was not big and only contained the bed she lay in and the chair that Skulduggery sat in. The door that led to the room beyond the bedroom was closed. She had managed to get a glimpse of it when Vladimir had left the room a few hours earlier and based on what she had catched a glimpse of she suspected that the room was a kitchen.

She did not know if it was Vladimir himself that owned the cottage, if he had borrowed it from someone or if it had been abandoned. What did it matter, really? The only thing she needed, _no, had to_ , concentrate on was how they would get out of here.

Valkyrie turned towards Skulduggery again and watched him. He was still sitting with his head bent down and as still as if he'd been a school skeleton the teachers used when they would teach their students about the bodies bones. She wondered if he had gone into one of his meditating stages but then saw that his wrists moved, if ever so slowly.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get out of these chains."

"And how does that go?"

"Don't bother me."

"Someone's in a bad mood!"

Skulduggery turned towards her and gave her a gaze that said that she should consider her next words really carefully. Valkyrie pretended she didn't see it. "Come on, you can tell me! I if someone should be able to know if we are on our way to engineer an attempted escape?"

"Believe me, you will notice if an attempted escape is in order."

"Because you are always so discreet, you mean?" Valkyrie asked and gave Skulduggery a smile.

Skulduggery mumbled something that she couldn't hear and continued to move his wrists against each other. The sigills that were carved into the chains glowed faintly and made Skulduggery's bones to shine blue. Valkyrie didn't know that much of sigills, but some she recognized. She could for example see that the sigills that were carved into Skulduggery's chains were binding sigills, the same that was carved into her chains.

 _Vladimir really wants to make sure we're not able to escape from here..._ Valkyrie thought. _If I only could figure out how to get rid of these chains..._

As on a given signal the door opened and in walked Vladimir O'Callaghan. He wore the same cassock as last time with the difference that this time he let the hood be pulled back. He had a smile on his lips and walked into the room with a grace that only a determined person can do. His gaze wandered to Skulduggery that had stopped trying to break free in the same moment as Vladimir had walked into the room, to Valkyrie where she sat on the bed.

"Good, you are both awake. That saves me time, which as you know always seems to have a way of disappearing when you need it the most."

"What do you want now? Are you going to bore us to death with another sermon about how evil we're and that you're the only one that can save us?" Valkyrie asked sarcastically.

Vladimir laughed and held out his hands as if he wanted to embrace the room. "I like your feistiness, dear Valkyrie. You always know what to say in tough situations, right? You always have a riposte ready, don't you?"

Valkyrie shrugged. "When I need to."

"I like it. It will be a pleasure to hear you beg me for mercy after all of your quips are to an end. It will be a pleasure to defile your body just to then heal it so it is prepared for the last journey before you are being recieved by the Almighty!"

Skulduggery shook his head and sighed. "You fanatics and your convictions..."

Vladimir turned to Skulduggery and gave him a slap. His deformed face radiated anger and his eyes crakled of hatred. " _Don't you dare, skeleton detective._ You think you're so worthy just because you're so unique and the only of your kind! It's your kind that has made this world so rotten and full of hatred! You're nothing more than one of the devils many offsprings that are trying to put a spanner in the works for us who are wearing the mark of God and that serves him credulously!"

Skulduggery laughed a cheerlessly laugh. "Believe me when I say that you're not the first or the last fanatic that've tried to make me change the way I live my life. You have all right to have your own opinions, but the fact is that I am who I am and nothing will change that. I'm a dangerous person that always has and will continue choose the violent way. That my partner can certify."

Valkyrie did not answer, since she knew she didn't need to. Skulduggery always managed to find the right words and knew exactly what he would say to make people react in the way he wanted.

Vladimir turned his attention towards Valkyrie. "Have you nothing to say, Darquesse? Are you really going to let the skeleton plead your cause for you?"

Valkyrie shrugged. "Not really. Contrariwise I agree with what he's saying and reckon that I have nothing to add."

"I knew it! You really are his little slave, aren't you? I bet there isn't much you can not do that you have to talk to him about _first_."

Valkyrie spit Vladimir in the face which resulted in an amused grunt from Skulduggery. "She didn't need my permission to do that."

Instead of becoming angry Vladimir smiled and took up a handkerchief from his coat pocket. He dried his face with it while he walked up towards Valkyrie. He leaned forward against her and tilted his head. "You're something extra, are you not? You think you are so big, that you're so important... But behind that face you're nothing more than a scared, uncertain little girl that has withstand more than you've been able to cope with."

Valkyrie did not answer.

"I'm right, aren't I? You don't want to confess it to your closest, since you're afraid they're going to lose their respect for you and because you don't want to hurt them. I know what you're experiencing, believe me. It doesn't become easier with the years, right? The preassure just escalates until you can't stand it anymore and it's then that everything crumbles around you..."

"You know nothing about me or what I've been through..." Valkyrie growled and tried to free herself from the chains that held her. "Just because you've had a tough life it doesn't mean you understand everyone. No one understands myself better than me!"

Vladimir smiled. "And it's exactly something like what you just said that a man or a women that's been the cause of more than thousand peoples death would say. Believe me on my word Darquesse, when I say that I've bumped into many different people in my life as priest that has been willing to tell their whole life story to me just because I've promised them a place in Heaven. If you only knew what secrets I've heard througout the years..."

"I told you: _do not call me Darquesse._ And what makes you think that I want to hear any of it?"

"Nothing." Vladimir shrugged. "I'm just stating the facts."

Valkyrie snorted and was just about to say something scathing, when she felt how something soft pressed into her mouth. She had trouble breathing through her mouth and had to use her nose. When she felt with her tongue against the soft, she understood that it was fabric. Vladimir had pushed his handkerchief into her mouth!

"So, that should make you stay quiet for a while, while I execute my work. It hurts me to having do this to you, it really does, but I am afraid that it is necessary. I can't afford to be disturbed, since it can result in more damage than I would wish."

Before Valkyrie or Skulduggery had time to say or do anything, Vladimir took up a hunting knife with a black hilt that he moved back and forth in front of Valkyrie's face. He smiled when he saw a hint of fear in Valkyrie's eyes. "Scared, are you? Good. That means you are aware of what is about to happen. Awereness is the first step towards redemption. The second step is... pain."

The blade of the knife cut over flesh and a moan of pain could be heard in the small room. Blood oozed out from the wound on Valkyrie's chest and she had to keep it together not to scream when the pain blossomed. When she looked down at her chest she could see how the blood oozed out from the wound between her breasts and down towards her stomach.

"The third step is to reach understanding. If you understand why you're being punished, you will get one step closer to God's embrace. He awaits you in Heaven, dear Valkyrie, so don't disappoint him. Confess your sins and embrace the pain!"

"You're sick in the head..." Valkyrie managed to moan between the pains and the handkerchief that was stuck in her mouth.

"Aren't we all?" Vladimir answered and cut her again.

Valkyrie screamed this time, but it came out mostly as an agonising moan since the handkerchief muted most of her sounds.

"I wish I could remove the handkerchief so I could hear your discomfort. I believe though that it is best if it stays on, since I don't want to be disturbed. But then on the other hand maybe you will get so much else to think about that you won't be able to drop any of your dashing comments."

Vladimir pulled out the handkerchief and Valkyrie took a deep, trembling breath. "You sadistic bastard... When I break free from these chains, _and believe me_ , I will, I shall..."

"Shall what? Teach me a lesson? Make me regret that I've hurt you? Please, Valkyrie. Spare me your threats. You won't escape from here alive, I'll make sure of that."

"If you think it's going to be that easy, you're mistaking", said Skulduggery.

Vladimir laughed and turned towards Skulduggery while he lifted up Valkyrie's shirt so her stomach became visible. Still smiling he cut a long, deep cut from Valkyrie's right hip to her left. Blood poured out in a rapid stream and stained both the matress and Valkyrie's pants. The pain was indescribable. Valkyrie screamed and turned to try to escape from the knife.

"Valkyrie!" Skulduggery screamed and tried to get to her. "Valkyrie, listen to me! Everything's going to be alright, I'll solve it! I'm here, I'm going to get us out of here."

"Oh, so cute. I think I'm going to shed a tear", Vladimir said and laughed again.

"Just you wait, you'll regret this..."

"Do not... tease him... are you so kind... I really want... to live a little... longer..." Valkyrie gasped.

"I think you should listen to your partner. She has a point, after all. Who knows, I might 'slip' with the knife."

Valkyrie screamed again when the knife sank into her left leg and she could feel how the blade cut into her in the same way as a butterknife cuts into butter. Her whole body told her to escape, but she was paralyzed with pain, shock and fear. She was cold and could feel how her left leg shook uncontrollably.

What then happened was like a fog to her. All that existed was pain, Vladimirs laugh and Skulduggery's voice that promised her that they would get out of there in some way. The only thing she wanted to do was to close her eyes and disappear...

"Valkyrie, stay with me! You can't disappear now!"

Skulduggery's voice got her to get out of the sleeps inviting deep, but when the pain came back with full force she wanted to sink back into the darkness again. When she looked down at herself was all she could see a bloody mess that once had been a beautiful, young female body. She was full of cuts and looked like a bloody piece of meat.

Vladimir's face appeared in front of her. He had a crazy look on his face that was strenghtened by his maniacal smile. He leaned down over her and began stroking her wounds with his hands. Valkyrie moaned in pain and felt to her surprise how a pair of lips pressed against her own. Vladimir continued stroking her bloody body as he at the same time kissed her. He forced his tongue into her mouth while he pushed his fingers in some of her wounds.

"Stop it! If you do not stop now, you will regret it. You are going to wish that you were never born."

Skulduggery's voice was so threatening that Valkyrie shivered between the pain and the disgust that she felt. She tried to get loose but Vladimir held her down with his body. He gave her one last kiss before he turned towards Skulduggery.

He was covered in blood and still smiled maniacally. "And as I have already explained to you skeleton detective, there is nothing you can do. You're going to be chained to that chair for a little while more. There is nothing you can do against that, I'm afraid."

"Do you want to bet?"

Vladimir laughed and again turned towards Valkyrie. He lay a hand on her breast and pushed it hard, which made Valkyrie whimper. "I would like to see you try."

"You asked for it."

Before Vladimir or Valkyrie had time to react Skulduggery had jumped to Vladimir and headbutted him. Blood poured out from Vladimir's nose and the knife fell down on the floor with a clink. Skulduggery seized the opportunity and tripped Vladimir before he pushed his skeleton body against Vladimir's where he lay on the floor. Skulduggery's eye sockets was just a few centimeters from Vladimir's own eyes when he said:

" _Never_ underestimate your enemy, Vladimir O'Callaghan. You never know what tricks he or she may have up their sleeve."

Skulduggery headbutted Vladimir again and sat up in the same moment as Vladimir's eyes rolled backwards and he fainted. When Skulduggery was sure that Vladimir wasn't going to get up for a while, he jumped to Valkyrie.

"How are you feeling?"

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow and gave Skulduggery a gaze that said "What do you think?"

"I'm going to admit that you've looked better. Not that you never look good, of course. You're a beautiful woman, but you probably already knew that. Considering your gaze and posture, I guess you want some help getting out of those chains?"


	4. Chapter 3 - The Escape

Despite the pain and the humiliation she felt, Valkyrie could not help but smile. "You never cease to surprise, Skulduggery."

"It's one of my best sides, I will admit."

Skulduggery twisted his wrists a little and suddenly the chains loosened that bound his magic. In the same moment that his magic coursed through his body he began to untie Valkyrie's chains. It didn't take him more than a minute and Valkyrie sighed with relief when she could feel her own magic flow through her. The disadvantage was that the pain, which she had forgotten when Skulduggery attacked Vladimir, came back with full force and she had to force herself not to moan loud.

Without a word Skulduggery lay his jacket over Valkyrie to cover her wounds and nakedness before he took her in his arms. He used the air to break the window and then jumped out through it with Valkyrie tightly pressed against his skeleton. They landed softly on the ground, but before Valkyrie had time to turn around and look at her surroundings, Skulduggery had already rose from the ground.

The air made her wounds sting even more and everytime her heart beat, the wounds pulsed. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the feeling of Skulduggery's skeleton against her own body, but it didn't help. She bit her lip and took a steadier grip on Skulduggery's shirt.

"Are you in great pain?"

"I'm doing alright... What I worry about... the most is... the blood loss."

"Do not worry, I will take you to Synecdoche so she can patch you back to normal. I will not let you die in my arms, Valkyrie."

"Thank you for making me feel better, Skulduggery." Valkyrie smiled at him. "But... If I now shall die I can not think of a better place than up in the clouds together with the person I respect and love the most."

"I love you too. Until the end."

"Until the end", Valkyrie said before she closed her eyes and laid her head against Skulduggery's bony shoulder.

She must have fallen asleep for a while, because the next time she opened her eyes the forest that had lay under them had disappeared and in its place was a mountain landscape. Valkyrie had no idea where they were and was just about to ask Skulduggery about it, when a sound made her look down. Under them, on a ledge, stood a man with an automatic weapon that was pointed towards them.

Valkyrie shouted a warning and Skulduggery had just enough of time to evade when the man opened fire. The shoots hailed around them and Valkyrie could feel and hear how many of them stretched past close by. Skulduggery managed to evade the first round and while the man reloaded Skulduggery turned towards her and said:

"We may be forced to land. Unless you prefer to get shot at?"

"I've been both shot at and shot more than once and that was one time too many. So I would be really happy if you landed on a little more secure place."

They dived and the ground came towards them fast. Just before it would have broken all their bones, Skulduggery used the air to decrease their descent and soon they both stood with their feet on the ground again. Valkyrie was swaying and Skulduggery took her hand to support her.

"We have to move. We don't know if there's any more armed men close by."

"Just give me a few seconds..." Valkyrie gasped and tried to breath normal while she pressed the dizziness away.

"We have to move _now_."

Valkyrie looked up and could see the shadows of three shapes move towards them behind a boulder. She cursed and followed Skulduggery on staggering legs. She kept as close to him as she could, but the blood loss made her weak and the dizziness forced its way into her all the time, despite her doing her best to keep it away. She knew that if they would be forced to fight against Vladimir's men she would not be much help and probably be overpowered and killed despite all the training she had been through under her 13 years as a sorcerer.

Voices and the sound of footsteps around them made Valkyrie understand that their pursuers either knew where they were and played a sick version of cat-and-mouse with them, or that they had seen where they'd landed and searched in the nearby area. Despite which, they were much too close for Valkyrie's taste, so despite big protests she forced her body forward. She bit her jaws together hard in an attempt to close out the pain while she concentrated on walking as quiet as possible.

Skulduggery turned towards her and laid his index finger against his teeths in a gesture that told Valkyrie she should be quiet. Valkyrie nodded and followed in Skulduggery's foot steps while she turned her head to try to get a perception of where their pursuers were.

 _How could they know where we were? They had after all set a trap for us. If I hadn't discovered the man with the automatic weapon in time..._ Valkyrie thought and a shiver traveled along her spine up to her neck. _Vladimir must have put some kind of tracking transmitter on one of us that allows him to see where we are. But on who and where? On our clothes or tattooed on Skulduggery's bones or my body? Maybe he has done something similiar that Cadaverous Gant did on me a couple months ago when he kidnapped Alice?_

A sound made her look up and in the same moment that she had time to register the danger it was already too late. A fist hit her right cheek and made her fall backwards down on the ground. Her head spinned from the punch and before she had time to orient herself she felt the weight of a mans body sit down over her waist. The weight made her wounds crack open and begin to bleed again.

"So, there you are! Me and my buddies thought we heard the sound of foot steps nearby and went to investigate and look what we found! I believe it is our lucky day today." The man turned his head and called for his comrades.

Valkyrie tried to push the man away, but she was too weak and he too heavy. She could see Skulduggery a few meters in front of her where he was busy fighting against another man and she became relieved when she understood that he was in no immediate danger so far. She turned her attention towards the man that sat on her. He had a goatee, dark brown hair and green eyes. He was dressed in some kind of leather attire that would make him look cool, but which Valkyrie only thought looked silly and rather made him look like someone that has been kicked out from a motorcycle club.

The sound of rolling stones and stomps of boots made her turn her head and what she saw got a lump of fear to paralyze her for a moment. Five men with identical outfits like the man that sat on her walked forward with a smile glued to their lips. They all had a weapon in their hands and if Valkyrie had been wearing Ghastly's protective clothing she would not have had to worry about bullets.

But now...

A gust of air swept past above her and the man that sat on top of her flew away like shot from a canon and hit the others with a loud bang that echoed in the otherwise so quiet mountain landscape. While the men were busy with untangling themselves from each other she felt a hand in hers that pulled her up. She looked up into Skulduggery's black eye sockets and saw a glimpse of worry reflect in them.

"Can you fight?"

"I think so." She gave him a smile. "I simply have to be the one that strikes first."

Skulduggery did not answer her smile but instead lay his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "Be careful."

She nodded. "Always. And you too."

Skulduggery nodded and they both turned at the same time to face the angry group of men. They had managed to stand up and had laid their hands on the weapons they had brought with them. In the same moment that they fired the weapons Skulduggery laid a protective shield of air around them and Valkyrie shoot out lightning from her fingertips that made on of the men to fall in a faint to the ground.

When the men was forced to reload Skulduggery flew towards them and gave one of the men an elbow in the face while he at the same time hew down another one with a kick to the knee. Valkyrie could hear the sound of bones that broke and the landscape was filled with a heartbreaking scream. Quickly, while the remaining three men was busy with staring at their fallen comrade, Valkyrie ran forward and tripped one man before she stood up and knocked out another one.

She was just about to turn towards the last man, when a white-hot pain in her back made her scream and fall down to the ground where she curled into a ball. Her teeth rattled and her body shook of spasms. She had been tased!

 _Come on, move! You will die if you do not move!_

A foot appeared in her field of view. It was a black boot with steelcap. It was pulled back and without her being able to do anything it hit her with full force in the jaw. She heard how something broke and a flavour of blood filled her mouth. She panted of pain and curled even more to protect herself from more kicks.

"You surely aren't that though when it comes around. I that has heard so much about the feared Valkyrie Cain. So wrong I had."

The man with the goatee stood over her and when Valkyrie glanced up she could see that he was smiling. He had a electroshock baton in his hands. _So it was that one I felt in my back..._ she thought.

"I have to admit that I feel a little sorry for my brothers. Vladimir has promised us that we can do whatever we want to with you if we manage to capture you." The man shrugged. "Well, it will be more over to me, so I shall not complain."

 _Where is Skulduggery?_

Valkyrie tried to sit up but her body did not want to obey. She was still shaky after the shock and needed a few more seconds to get herself under control. She let her gaze sweep over the landscape and saw to her horror Vladimir stand a few meters away with Skulduggery's lifeless body in front of him on the ground. How had he come here?!

The man with the goatee turned his head and also caught a glimpse of Vladimir. "That was about time. Now that you've had your little fun it has to be our turn?"

Vladimir nodded. "I've already cleansed her soul from sin. She has felt pain and she has understand why. The only thing that's left now is for her to accept the pain and embrace it. That I assign to you and your men. I understand that it was a long time since you last _saw_ a women, let alone _felt_ and _touched_ one."

The insight hit Valkyrie like a hammer blow. "No..."

"Yes, my dear Valkyrie. I am unable to do such a horrible action towards a women or man, but that is these men. They are barbarians and doesn't live on anything else but people's suffering. In other words they are a perfect tool for me when I need a little extra help with getting sinners to realise their mistakes."

"You can't... I won't allow you to..."

"You can not change what is already predetermined, Valkyrie", Vladimir interrupted her. "Now enjoy your last moments of life. It will soon be over, I promise."

The man with the goatee grabbed her hair and lifted up her face so it floated just some centimeter from his own. "This will be fun. You maybe don't want to confess it to yourself, but I can see on you that you're a girl that likes it rough, right?"

"Fuck off!"

"Oh, a feisty little girl! This will be better than I first thought."

The Goatee grabbed his belt and unbuttoned it without releasing his hold of Valkyrie's hair. She ignored the pain in her hair and instead concentrated on getting her paralyzed body to obey her. She felt a weak tingle in her leg and could move it without problem. She concentrated and managed to move her other leg as well. She closed her eyes and relaxed, in hope of getting the Goatee to believe that she had given up and that he thereby would lower his guard.

"Are you giving up already? What a shame, I that had hoped on a little resistance. But you take what you have."

Valkyrie let a sob escape her closed lips to maintain the illusion of her resignation and bent down her head so the Goatee should not see the grin on her face. Now she could move her whole body and just waited for the right moment to strike.

The Goatee leaned forward against her and whispered in her ear: "This I will really enjoy..."

Valkyrie lifted up her head. "Me too", she said and kicked the Goatee right between his legs.

He gave out a scream of pain and released his grip of her. His hands lay around his crown jewels and he had to struggle to get air into his lungs. Valkyrie took the opportunity and kicked the Goatee in the head so he lost consciousness. She then turned towards Vladimir.

"Skulduggery. What have you done to him?"

"Oh, not really anything. He's just a little unconscious, that's all. He'll probably come around just in time to see me kill you."

"What makes you think I won't have time to kill you first?"

"Because of these."

Before she had time to register what happened, Vladimir suddenly stood next to her. She was just about to hit him in the jaw, when a flaming pain made her pant and go down on one knee. When she looked down on herself she could see Vladimir's hand that was inside her wound on her stomach. He turned his fingers and Valkyrie screamed.

"This is what I mean. You sinners believe that you're better than the rest of us and that no one or nothing can get to you. That's why you're so easy to assault and overpower. That's why you always fall in the end."

"If you... think that... I will... give up... you're wrong."

"Oh, I am fully aware that you are not going to stop struggling until you are unconscious or dead. I've counted on that. The reason why you're not dead yet is because I want the skeleton detective to see you _die_. I want him to see when your life slowly flows out from you and I want to see when the insight strikes him that he could not do _anything_ to stop it."

Valkyrie did not answer. Instead she smiled and spit Vladimir in the face before she pulled back and with a gasp pulled away from Vladimir's grip on her stomach. In the same moment as she'd break lose Vladimir fell to the ground. Behind him stood a furious Skulduggery. He took a hold of Vladimir's collar and pressed his face so close to Vladimir's that Skulduggery's nasal bone and Vladimir's nose touched each other.

" _I warned you, did I not?_ " Skulduggery said with such a voice filled with so much fury and hatred that Valkyrie was forced to take a step back and which made Vladimir turn pale with fear. " _I warned you to hurt my partner. You that state to know so much about me and Valkyrie should know that when I get pissed off you do best_ to run and hope that I will not catch up."

Before Vladimir had time to answer Skulduggery grabbed his neck and turned with such force that Valkyrie thought Vladimir's head would rotate 180°. A high cracking of bones that breaks filled the landscape and echoed between the cliffs.

Valkyrie twitched when Skulduggery threw away Vladimir's lifeless body that fell to the ground with a thud. When she turned her gaze towards him he stood with tied fists and with his gaze fixed on the dead man. She could see the fury that surrounded him and that made her worried.

"Skulduggery...?"

He didn't answer. He just continued to stare at Vladimir's dead body.

Valkyrie walked over to him with a slightly limp walk and laid her hand on his shoulder. The movement made Skulduggery turn his gaze to her. They said nothing, just looked each other in the eyes. No words were needed, since they could read everything in each other's gaze.

Skulduggery laid his arm around her and lifted her up in his arms. He lifted from the ground and started to fly away. Valkyrie did not care where they were going. She was so exhausted and had horrible pains, which did that she could not think of anything else. The only thing she wanted to do was to sleep.

"I'll disappear away for a while..." she whispered and closed her eyes.


	5. Epilogue: Answers

The sound of persons that was talking reached her ears and made her woke from the darkness that had held her in an iron grip. She did not open her eyes but instead listened to the voices but pretty soon regretted that she had woken up. A gnawing pain could be felt particularly in her stomach but also in one of her thighs.

The memories of the last two days events came flowing back to her and made her moan. The voices became silent and she knew that the persons to who the voices belonged had turned towards her. She forced herself to open her eyes. She lay in a hospital bed and the strong light from the lamps made her peer. When she had gotten used to the light she could see Skulduggery and Synecdoche.

"Hello..." she croaked. "How's it going?"

"It's probably us that should ask you that, Valkyrie." Skulduggery walked over to her and sat down on the visitors chair next to her bed.

"Never been better!" Valkyrie laughed but was soon grimacing in pain.

"I can see that", said Synecdoche and wrote something in the notepad she had in her hands. "How are your wounds feeling?"

"Hurting."

"As expected, in other words."

"When can she get out of here?" asked Skulduggery.

"I've done what I can. The only thing she needs now is rest and even more rest. Where she decides to have that rest is up to her."

"Thank you, Synecdoche. I'll take it from here."

"As you wish. Give me a call if you have any quesitons."

With those words Synecdoche turned around and left the room.

Valkyrie turned towards Skulduggery. "How long have I been down-and-out?"

"Around a day. You've been sleeping restless, which isn't strange considering the circumstances. You've been experiencing a traumatic event." Skulduggery took her hand in his gloved one. "How are you feeling? _For real?_ "

Valkyrie closed her eyes and took a deep breath that made her wounds tense. "As if I've been stabbed with a giant bloody knife. I'm in pain and very tired."

"Which is expected."

"Do you always have to say the obvious? You wiseacre..."

"That's why you love me."

Valkyrie smiled. "One of the reasons."

The silence lay around them and Valkyrie sighed deep when a feeling of secureness lay around her. Despite everything she'd been through she had got out of it alive and she had both herself and Skulduggery to thank for it.

As if Skulduggery had read her thoughts he pushed her hands and gave her a gaze that told Valkyrie that he also was relieved that she had made it. She smiled up at him and pushed his hand back.

"I am glad that you're alive, Valkyrie."

"I am as well. Happy that I am alive, I mean."

"But not that I made it?"

"You always make it, Skulduggery. I wasn't worried about you in the slightest. I mean, you're a living skeleton for goodness' sake! You don't have to worry about bleeding to death like me. The only thing you need to be worried of is getting your bones broken or torn."

"It hurts to break bones, which you know quite well. How many times have you gotten one or more ribs broken? Moreover I can die, even if it is harder to kill me since I don't have any blood, muscles or skin."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "As I said before: you are such a wiseacre!"

Skulduggery chuckled and shook his head. "What do you say about taking a few days off? You could need it after all you've been through."

"That was the best thing you've said to me in a long time."

Skulduggery tilted his head in a way that told Valkyrie that he would have lifted an eyebrow if he had had one. She sat up in the bed and grimacing of pain when the stitches in her stomach and thigh tensed. Skulduggery supported her and when the worst pain had disappeared Valkyrie managed to walk on her own but kept her hold on Skulduggery.

Just in case.

Eventually they managed to reach the Bentley and drove towards Skulduggery's house. Valkyrie found herself discovering that it had been many years since she last had been at Skulduggery's home and wondered if everything was alike. Had Skulduggery still her bedroom and the kitchen? Had he been refurnishing anything in the other rooms?

 _I guess I will get an answer to my questions when we get there._

The car ride was driven in silence. None of them said anything. The only thing that was heard was the engine's spinning and the wheels that rolled over the asphalt. Valkyrie closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling that the Bentley always gave her. In this car she had always been safe and had never have to worry about ending up in the ditch. Skulduggery was an excellent driver and had showed her that more than once.

She awoke with a jerk of the car engine that turned off. She looked around confused and noticed that they had arrived. She pulled a hand through her hair and sighed to get her beating heart under control before she turned her gaze to Skulduggery. He looked worriedly at her, which made her frown.

"What?"

"How are you feeling?"

"After the circumstances? Fine."

"You're sweating and moved anxiously in your sleep. What did you dream?"

"I can't remember. The only thing I remember is that I was scared and hunted."

"It's normal to dream nightmares after being through what you have. You'll probably do that a few days to come."

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "Thank you so much, captain obvious!"

"You're welcome. Do you need help getting out?"

Valkyrie opened the car door and stepped out with her healthy leg first. She propped herself against the car a couple of seconds while catching her breath and preparing herself for the pain she knew would come. When she felt ready she let go of the Bentley and started to walk with limping steps towards the front door.

"How's it going?"

She did not answer, just concentrated on laying the other leg in front of the other. She hated to show weakness. She hated feeling like a burden to everyone else. She scolded herself for putting herself in this situation. Had she not promised herself to take it easy and not expose herself for more dangers?

Yes, she had. And see where that had led her!

Her thoughts were interrupted by Skulduggery that unlocked the front door and led her into the hallway. Once they were inside Valkyrie took a deep breath and pulled in the smell of Skulduggery's house. It still smelled the same and the scent made her remember many happy memories that had been unfolded in there.

"I've missed this place."

"And it has missed you."

Valkyrie smiled and limped to the couch where she lay down with her wounded leg supported against the couch edge. Skulduggery sat down in the armchair opposite and watched her. He said nothing, just looked at her with his head tilted.

Valkyrie closed her eyes and let the feeling of safety and being on a place where you belong embrace her. How long ago had it been since she last had felt safe in this way? She could not remember exactly, but it was a long time ago. Not even under the year that had passed since she had returned to Haggard and moved into Gordon's house she had been able to feel 100% secure, despite it being her house now and not Gordon's anymore.

She opened her eyes and sat up with a jerk. "Xena! I have to go and make sure she is okay! I haven't been home for over two days!"

Skulduggery waved his hand. "Already fixed. While you were unconscious in Synecdoche's clinic I drove home to you and fed her. I even took the liberty to take her out on a walk so she could do her needs."

"She had not been peeing or pooping anywhere in the house, right?"

Skulduggery shook his head. "She had done her needs in a small box that you had put out in the kitchen for her in case you would be gone for a longer period of time. It's a very well behaved dog you got, I gotta say."

Valkyrie couldn't help but smile. "But then she is also teached by the best."

"She truly is."

Valkyrie lay herself down among the pillows in the couch again and sighed with relief. She understood first now how worried she had been for her dog and how she missed her. As soon as she felt better she would drive home and pet Xena until the dog would become irritated lay down in her basket.

"Do you think she has been lonely without me?"

"Anyone would feel like that if they were used to your company as often as Xena is."

"I don't know if you're trying to be kind or just mocking me."

"I'm _always_ kind."

"Except for when you're _not_."

Skulduggery tilted his head and gave Valkyrie that gaze that told her he thoughts she was being stupid, which made her laugh.

"Nice hearing you laughing again, even if I will admit that it hurts a little that you're doing it at my expense."

"It isn't my fault that your ego is so gigantic that you can't tolerate when someone is joking about you. You joke on my expense all the time, so then I should also be able to do it towards you."

"Certainly, but it's not quite the same thing. Firstly I am much older than you, which menas that you shall show me respect." Skulduggery held up a finger and then lifted another one. "Secondly I am unique which means I have certain benefits..."

Valkyrie lifted an eyebrow and was just about to answer when Skulduggery continued: "And thirdly I find it extremely funny to make fun of you."

Valkyrie stared at him for several seconds before she raised her hand and shot out lightning towards Skulduggery that he easily fend off with air with a turn of his wrist. "Nice try, but not good enough."

"If I had wanted to hurt you, I would have."

"I see. If your pride is now saved maybe we can talk about what I have been doing the whole day yesterday while you were unconscious?"

"Something tells me that you will tell me despite if I want to hear it or not."

"Hear now! Who do you take me for? Have I ever done anything against someone else's will?"

"All the time."

Skulduggery lifted his hand and conjured a small gust of wind that moved around her hair and that made her laugh again. "Do you know that you are tremendously stubborn sometimes and even if I shall confess that I like that side of you, it can be really annoying."

"And that's why you love me so much."

Skulduggery smiled and gave her hair a new gust of wind. "Anyway... After making sure that you were not in a state between life and death I visited our beloved Grand Mage since I needed some information. It turns out Vladimir is known way back. He has popped up in many reports about people that's been disappearing and then especially people that's been a part of his old church. It seems as if he has been going on for many years but never been captured beacuse he always moves around."

"Why did he kill people from his old parish?"

"Because they did not share his opinions."

"Of course... But... Why did he attack us? Or, I know why he wanted to hurt me, but why you? What had you done to him?"

"Nothing. He just didn't want to take the risk of encountering my legendary wrath that he knew would come if he killed you. 'Leave no loose ends' and all that."

"I see..."

Valkyrie became silent when the signification about how close it'd been that she'd died hit her. She thought about how close it had been that she never would've seen those she loved again. What would happen to Xena if she disappeared? Would someone be willing to take care of her and where would she end up in that case?

Tears build in Valkyrie's eyes when she thought about someone else she wanted to protect above all else. What would become of her little sister if she died? Who would help Alice and the rest of her family and make sure they were safe? Who would...

As if Skulduggery had read her thoughts he stood up from the armchair and walked over to her. He bent down on one knee in front of her so their faces were only a few centimeters from each other before he lay a hand on her shoulder. "Don't blame what's happened on yourself, Valkyrie. You were really brave and could not do anything to stop what happened. If there is someone you should blame it's China. It was after all she that send us out on the mission. She could've send someone else, but since..."

"Since we are the best and always get the job done it's most comfortable for her, plus that she knows that the job will be done, no matter the cost."

"Precisely."

Valkyrie sighed. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better, Skulduggery, but I partly have myself to blame. I could've said no but instead I threw myself in yet another risky mission. I've told myself that I shall take it easy with this whole save-the-world-from-bad-guys-thing, but god damn it if I am not doing totally opposite. If I die, who will take care of Xena and make sure that the rest of my family is safe? Especially Alice. I can not leave this world with the knowledge of knowing no one will be there for her and that can help her!"

"You do not need to worry about them, Valkyrie. I will be there if the worst were to happen you."

Valkyrie smiled with tears of happiness pouring down her cheeks and hugged Skulduggery hard. He laid his arms around her and hugged her back. They sat so for a long time and just enjoyed each others company. They enjoyed having each other in their lifes, of having a person they knew would always be there and that they could be themselves with.

"I love you, Skulduggery Pleasant. Until the end."

"And I love you, Valkyrie Cain. Until the end."


End file.
